joe wrote in :

The point that was made is your radio does not really warrant the effort
your are putting into the antenna. Any variety of quick and easy
antennas may give you adequate results.


On the other hand, I've been told that a good RF ground and a well-sited
antenna make more difference than anything else. Who cares about the radio, I
can change that. If I don't at least try to get the antenna right, what would
be the point of that change in radio? Where I live I'm unlikely to ever get
much, but spending what amounts to a couple of weeks food money on trying is
worth a go.

So, here is what I see.
1) Worrying about the radio's input impedance is of little value

Of course. Wasn't me who was worrying about it, once I learned a bit about
it, some weeks back. I recently pointed out that striving to use 50 ohms for
an SWL setup that had undetermined impedances didn't matter to me. Am I wrong
both ways?

2) The choice of coax won't make much difference - performance wise, but
copper braid is much easier to solder to.

True. This is something I pointed out, several times. I also pointed out that
given the want to try things, a cable that can be reliably reused is better
than one that can't, so a fragile cheap foil screened cable is more trouble
than its worth.

3) A simple wire antenna at the end of the coax should be sufficient

Maybe. I'll be trying that. There's no room out there to run it without
bringing it close to buldings so to get anything decent it's going to have to
be vertical, so that immediately has a few demands. Can't just shove it up
there, it has to be safe. Tenants tend to have binding conditions for putting
up stuff like that too.

4) A balun (or un-un for the picky) between the antenna and coax is
probably worthwhile. 9:1 or 10:1 won't make any difference.

I intend to try one. The exact winding ratio doesn't bother me that much.
What bothers me is that if I don't mention one someone does, and if I do, I'm
told I shouldn't use one. The degree of contradiction I see suggests I'm not
the only one with some rather vague ideas. I read posts by John Doty that
have persisted a while online in several places since he wrote them. They
make sense, so I'll try them. They basically aim to reduce peaks and nulls in
sensitivity for various points in the HF bands.

5) Figure out what you are going to do about lightning protection.

Already have. It will go direct from antenna to ground through a winding,
there will be no direct current link from antenna to coax. The coax also will
have a 1:1 ferrite transformer at the receiver end.

6) Rather than spend weeks sorting out the details, string up some wire
and listen to the radio.


A simple wire direct to the radio doesn't help here. I'm in a basement, in an
inner city valley. Too much building around me, too much RFI, and too much
scaffolding too, major works being done to the building by the landlords.
Until I can get some undisturbed access to the back yard to wire an antenna,
I have no choice BUT to think of what I can do. The moment actually trying
stuff becomes easier than living with that and reading and posting online,
then I'll do it. I've bought a few things, coax, toroids, a cheap whip mast,
but there's not much I can do out there with anything yet.

One thing I've learned is that for every bit of informed advice, a bit of
informed contradictory advice will be found. Considering how easily people
give vent to it, it seems wise to ask and watch the answers and make up my
own mind. I also prefer to measure three times and cut once. It's usually
cheaper. I have plenty of time and not much money.